Jewish Community Centers Had 645,000 Members in 1960, J.w.b. Reports

June 2, 1961

NEW YORK (Jun. 1)

A record high cumulative number of 23,900,000 men, women and children took part in activities at YM-YWHA’s Jewish Community Centers, camps and other institutions affiliated with the National Jewish Welfare Board during 1960. This was disclosed today when Solomon Litt, national JWB president, presented the organization’s annual report.

Membership in these YM-YWHA’s and Jewish Community Centers rose from 621,000 in 1959 to 645,000 in 1960, the report stated. These included 220,000 nursery school children and children of school age, 110,000 teenagers and young adults, and 315,000 adults and older adults, many past sixty, “and a growing number in their seventies, eighties and even nineties.” In the 437 JWB-affiliated units, there are 9,800 clubs, councils and special-interest groups. In 1960, a total of $24,512,000 was spent by local communities for YM-YWHA and Jewish Community Center activities; construction costs of new YM-YWHA buildings amounted to $7,600,000.

Turning to morale efforts on behalf of personnel in the Armed Forces, the report reveals that 2,548,142 servicemen, hospitalized veterans and members of their families in the aggregate–an increase of roughly 33,000–attended a wide variety of religious, educational, cultural, recreational and social activities organized under the JWB banner.